// Hosea’s Wife //

My judgmental little self used to read Hosea and wonder how Gomer could be so thoughtless, so cruel, so unfaithful to poor Hosea– and how could he keep going back and loving her, when any rational person would throw his hands in the air in defeat and walk away from his affair-having wife?

I didn’t see the bigger picture back then.

Oh, but I do now.

When I was little, I would have been absolutely horrified to know that, truthfully?

Gomer is me. Is all of us, really.

How many times have we promised we’d be faithful to the Lord, then the next day forget and get caught up in ourselves again? How many times do we struggle to overcome a certain sin? How many times do we hesitate to trust that He is faithful because we’ve been hurt by fallible people?

How many times has He welcomed us back with open arms, even while knowing that we’ll always struggle with our own worst enemies– ourselves? How many times has He reminded us that He loves us no matter what, that the past is in the past?

The book of Hosea isn’t a story of Gomer’s messed up life. Not really. It’s a story of Hosea’s enduring, patient, sacrificial love.

It’s a story of Christ’s enduring, patient, sacrificial love.

Because seriously, how impossible, how brave, how amazing is it to choose to love someone who doesn’t love you back?

It’s so difficult for us to fathom that kind of love, as I’m sure it was for Gomer. We don’t know about her upbringing, but considering her occupation before she married Hosea, it probably wasn’t all sunshine and roses. She was rough around the edges, to be certain.

But thankfully for her, Hosea didn’t give up on her, and she got her chance at redemption.

Thankfully for us, Christ never gives up on us, and we are transformed into a new creation.

We get a fresh start because of His forever love!

Lately, I’ve started to love this story, because one of its major themes happens to be one of my favorite words.

redemption

[ riˈdempSHən ]

1.) deliverance; rescue.

2.) salvation.

3.) recovery by payment, as of something pledged.

Isn’t it beautiful? My favorite stories are those with redemption in them. My favorite characters are the messed-up ones who receive grace– that impossible love– and make a change. As Edmund Pevensie in Narnia says…

And that’s why I’ve grown to love the story of Hosea and Gomer. It’s a reflection of Aslan and Edmund. It’s a reflection of my Savior and I.

The entire Bible is about redemption, when you think of it. Redemption– Grace– and unfailing Love.

The best and truest Story there ever was.

~

I just spoke silence with the seeker next to me
She had a heart with hesitant, halting speech
That turned to mine and asked belligerently
“What do I live for?”

I see the scars of searches everywhere I go
From hearts to wars to literature to radio
There’s a question like a shame no one will show
“What do I live for?”

We are Hosea’s wife
We are squandering this life
Using people like ladders and words like knives

[CHORUS]
If we’ve eyes to see
If we’ve ears to hear
To find it in our hearts and mouths
The word that saves is near
Shed that shallow skin
Come and live again
Leave all you were before
To believe is to begin

There is truth in little corners of our lives
There are hints of it in songs and children’s eyes
It’s familiar, like an ancient lullaby
What do I live for?

We are Hosea’s wife
We are squandering this life
Using bodies like money and truth like lies

[CHORUS]

[Bridge]
We are more than dust
That means something
That means something
We are more than just
Blood and emotions
Inklings and notions
Atoms on oceans 

// Brooke Fraser, “Hosea’s Wife” //